Feminism and Christianity: An Essential Guide by Lynn Japinga

In 1988, the Council for Biblic¬al Manhood and Womanhood published the Danvers Statement, affirming that "In the church, redemption in Christ gives men and women an equal share in the blessings of salvation; nevertheless, some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men." I am hesitant to single out one organization for focused argument, but this statement accurately represents a sentiment within the faith that I find disturbing. In this paper, I will use the redemptive trend hermeneutic to deconstruct the CBMW's affirmation, while providing my own views on why I find both women in ministry and the redemptive trend hermeneutic as valid.

All throughout the Gospels Jesus talks to and about women. He raised them up when all society did was push them lower. The earth shouted condemnation upon women but Jesus shouted love and adoration. Women had no authority, but he called them to follow him. Women were trapped, in house but Jesus called them out. Women were inferior to men, but Jesus said he loved them both. Women’s words were not trusted, yet Jesus trusted them to tell others of his resurrection. Women couldn’t talk to strangers; Jesus honored them when they did. Women couldn’t interact with male guests, so Jesus interacted with them and broke the status quo. Women were owned by men, but Jesus said that they were heirs to God’s throne. Jesus heals, helps, hears, harbors, and

The Book Of Ruth plays an integral role in Christian women history and theology as it illustrates how patriarchal system lessens the worth of women. The narrative account of Ruth reveals how society, at that time, confines women in a patriarchal system that does not always value women. In spite of this, Ruth learns how to use the patriarchal world to her advantage and serves as a great role model for women today.

Sexism and feminism are controversial issues, that is why they are a global issue in today’s society. People who argue sexism does not exist tend to focus only on the wires of the issue in relation to a birdcage. Like Frye said, “...step back...and take a macroscopic view of the whole cage, that you can see why the bird does not go anywhere; and then you will see it in a moment”(Frye). So if people expand their focus to the world it is overwhelmingly apparent that in many countries women are second class subjects. Sexism is still a problem which feminists in our society today are still trying to fix. Through her use of characterization, symbolism and changes in relationships, Zora Neale Hurston argues in Their Eyes Were Watching God which is widely viewed as a feminist novel that even though American society is majority sexist and are uninformed about feminism, feminism will ultimately overtake but will not be enough to eradicate the sexism that has been embedded in all aspects of our daily lives. As Janie retrieves her independence after being maltreated by men, one must know that the novel cannot simply be regarded as a feminist novel because there are aspects that dispute with talks about feminist theory. The novel grapples in a way with feminist ideals of equality of men and women and traditional gender roles which is referred to as sexism.

Now I will outline the feminist objection to the christian ethic being one of self-giving love as presented by Barbara Andolsen. The word agape is often used to discuss Christian love, because it is the greek word most of often used in New Testament passages concerning love. Christian agape is most commonly characterized as self-sacrificing love with little regard for oneself, while self-love is deemed as a sin to be overcome. (Andolsen) Outka claims that humans have a propensity to self-love and the love command was intended to correct the natural tendency for self-assertion. (Outka 1972:300) Feminist theologian, Valerie Saiving Goldstein argues that the believe in the natural tendency for self-love is based on a masculine experience, so the

The social organization in my local area that I chose to write about is the YWCA. The Young Women’s Christian Organization traces its roots back to the Victorian Era England, where two separate organizations, Emma Robart’s prayer Union and Mary Jane Kinnard’s General Female Training Institute, were chartered in 1855. As the industrial revolution brought sweeping changes to establish ideology of women’s place in the home, these two initiatives shared a concern, for the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of women and girls everywhere. Within a few years they united under the name YWCA. The first Associations in the United States focused on providing clean, safe, affordable housing to these displaced women, as well as traveler’s aide, meals, professional training, employment bureaus and social outlets. From its infancy, the YWCA movement emphasized inclusion of women from all ages, races, nationalities, backgrounds and interests, a tenet that remains central to the YWCA’s work today. The YWCA of Great Falls was organized in 1911 by a panel of 25 women from local churches. The YWCA at Valeria Hall here offered safe, clean housing, a cafeteria, laundry facilities, and an employment bureau, a directory of rooming houses, traveler’s aid, an educational department, and club rooms for high school girls. In the 30’s and 40’s the YWCA of Great Falls evolved to meet the needs of the community as the United States experienced a period of depression, and then war. As World War

Discuss the contribution feminism has made to our understanding of the sociology of religion. Illustrate your arguments with sociological examples.

Women have been treated as if they are weak, invisible, inferior to men, and simply domestic workers. The theme is seen throughout the reading and even in the Jewish religious texts such as the story of Dinah and Bruriah. With these characteristics being believed for generations, it makes sense that God is considered a male in many religions due to the views of society. Men are seen to be the holders of power and who is more powerful than God? However, as society changes, I hope that the practice of assuming God is solely male changes. Women are gaining more leadership roles within many of the sections of Jewish practice, such as becoming rabbis. It is no less likely that God is a woman than is a man. How do we even know that God fits into those two limiting categories? One quote that I believe sums this discussion up beautifully is “It should be no less possible to pray to a God-She than to a God-He, though it would also be no less incomplete” (Anderson and Young

I believe gender and religion is a very interesting topic because there are many ways these two topics intermingle and affect each other. There are many ways that one could go about analyzing the complex and ever-changing relationship between religion and gender. It is important to look at the higher spiritual being or beings that are worshiped, the religious leader such as a priest or rabbi, and also the members of a certain religion and asses how gender affects it.

There are no known writings that chronicle the life of Jesus or his teachings during his lifetime; rather there is an accumulation of written sources that arose decades after his death (Seat 8/25). Originally, Jesus’ teachings were passed down orally, but eventually, Christians began to write down the oral traditions decades later after his death, specifically after the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70CE (Seat 8/25). As a result, it is important to note that there is a time discrepancy. Jesus died in 30 CE, but it was not until 70CE that Christians began to write down his teachings; therefore, this time difference has led to different interpretations of his teachings (Seat 9/1). As highlighted by Barbara MacHaffe it is

The most thought-provoking topic from the readings and class discussions, was the debate in class over whether religion is naturally oppressive to women. My thoughts on the topic were it depends on the religion, certainly the Abrahamic religions seem to be controlling and oppressive of women. Taking Christianity for example, the “purest” form of Christianity would be somewhere in the transition between the Jesus sect of Judaism and the transition into something called Christianity and even in this context you find patriarchal verses found in Paul’s letters. One of the classmates mentioned a pure form of religion, something independent of its environment, but a religion separated from its environment does not exist; there is no pure version of religion somewhere to be found. Christianity has become more progressive as our society becomes more egalitarian this reflection shows the interconnectedness of religion with the outside world.

“I have never agreed with my other self wholly. The truth of the matter seems to lie between us.” ― Kahlil Gibran, Sand and Foam

Juskiene, Vaineta. "Female Image in the Biblical Text: Aspect of Creationsim." Feminist -------------Theology. Journal Biblical Literature, 1 Dec. 2010. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.

There is discrimination between male and female, in terms of sexism, in our society. This bias takes issue the new translation of the Bible. Though I personally believe that it may be better to have different roles between

Gender gives you power; males are considered more powerful in comparison to women as a result of their physical makeup. People also mistake what the Bible conveys about the male and female relationships. In the Bible, God states that men should be the head of the house and are responsible for anyone in his household; while women should take care and bring up the children and support the man. God intended this to be a balance of power between soft and strong. The Bible states in Ephesians 5:23-33 “Wives be subject to your husband.. Husbands love your wives.. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as they love their own bodies..He who loves his own wife loves himself;..” However, countless people misinterpret this description-because they